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Cat Creek field 42 years old this month
February 25, 1962 newspaper
By J. S. (Curly) Meek as told to Mike Voeller
This month marks the 42nd anniversary of the discovery of oil in the famous Cat Creek field
near Winnett, a field that triggered a boom that has yet to be equaled in Central Montana. The
history of the first crew of drillers to arrive at Winnett, the discovery of oil and other related
events is a saga that still remains fresh in the minds of many old timers who were living here
"way back when." Then there are those who hear about the once great Cat Creek field and let it
go at that. Starting today the Daily News will run a history of the discovery of the field as told
by J. S. (Curley) Meek, a driller on the discovery well who now lives in Shelby and owns the
Meek Drilling Co.
Meek has spent many years searching through back issues of newspapers and talking with oil
and business men who were in Central Montana at the time of the discovery and it is from
these sources, as well as his own personal observations that he garnered the information
contained in this series. Some eight years ago when H.L. Lanzt died in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the
age of 74 the Daily News ran a brief history on the discovery of Cat Creek and some of the
obstacles that had to be met. It will do for a start.
As drilling superintendent for the Frantz Oil Co., H. L. Lantz landed in Winnett in October of
1919, bringing with him from Wyoming a rattle trap drilling machine and two drillers, J. S.
(Curly) Meek and Sol Alderdice, and a tool dresser, Fred Burnett. The crew was filled out by the
hiring of Joe Nordquist, local resident, as tool dresser. This was the year of the big winter,
recalled even now with a shudder by old-time residents of the region. With one other man,
Lantz, Meek, Alderdice and Burnett made up the entire list of guests at Winnett's lonesome
hotel-and there they were marooned seven weeks, as raging blizzards swept the prairies and
made roads impassable. The storm followed a drought year, and made even worse the shortage
of hay for the horses that constituted the motive power of the region. By the time the storms
had abated sufficiently to permit moving the rig to the rugged terrain of the Cat Creek field,
teamsters of the area were paying $73 a ton for shipped-in North Dakota slough grass and their
prices rose proportionately. They charged the Franz Corporation $100 a ton for the 22 mile haul
of rig, casing and other equipment to the well site-and a prerequisite of the movement (and
all future moves of the rig) was the requirement that it be completely torn down, so it could be
hauled in wagons. Despite the obstacles, the rig was finally on location, reassembled and ready
to drill shortly after Thanksgiving. Accompanying it to the drill site was the "cook house" built
so it could be hauled on a wagon. Drilling was slow, with power prOVided by a wood burning
boiler, fired with cottonwood logs purchased in the area for $8 a cord.
It was even slower because the old drilling machine had no calf-wheel. The drilling line was of
the type then known as "rag line," nine-strand Manila rope 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Every time
pipe was run, it was necessary to pull the tools, take them down, spool the rope and put on
wire line for lowering the pipe. Re-spooling of the big rope and re-assembling of the tool string
was necessary every time drilling was resumed. Early in the year, the well hit.

Cat Creek field 42 years old this month
February 25, 1962 newspaper
By J. S. (Curly) Meek as told to Mike Voeller
This month marks the 42nd anniversary of the discovery of oil in the famous Cat Creek field near Winnett, a field that triggered a boom that has yet to be equaled in Central Montana. The history of the first crew of drillers to arrive at Winnett, the discovery of oil and other related events is a saga that still remains fresh in the minds of many old timers who were living here "way back when.” Then there are those who hear about the once great Cat Creek field and let it go at that. Starting today the Daily News will run a history of the discovery of the field as told by J. S. (Curley) Meek, a driller on the dis¬covery well who now lives in Shelby and owns the Meek Drilling Co.
Meek has spent many years searching through back issues of newspapers and talking with oil and business men who were in Central Montana at the time of the discovery and it is from these sources, as well as his own personal observations that he garnered the informa¬tion contained in this series. Some eight years ago when H.L. Lanzt died in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 74 the Daily News ran a brief history on the discovery of Cat Creek and some of the obstacles that had to be met. It will do for a start.
As drilling superintendent for the Frantz Oil Co., H. L. Lantz landed in Winnett in October of 1919, bringing with him from Wyoming a rattle trap drilling machine and two drillers, J. S. (Curly) Meek and Sol Alderdice, and a tool dresser, Fred Burnett. The crew was filled out by the hiring of Joe Nordquist, local resident, as tool dresser. This was the year of the big winter, recalled even now with a shudder by old-time residents of the region. With one other man, Lantz, Meek, Alderdice and Burnett made up the entire list of guests at Winnett's lonesome hotel—and there they were marooned seven weeks, as raging blizzards swept the prairies and made roads impassable. The storm followed a drought year, and made even worse the shortage of hay for the horses that constituted the motive po¬wer of the region. By the time the storms had abated sufficiently to permit moving the rig to the rugged terrain of the Cat Creek field, teamsters of the area were paying $73 a ton for shipped-in North Dakota slough grass and their prices rose proportionately. They charged the Franz Corporation $100 a ton for the 22 mile haul of rig, casing and other equipment to the well site—and a prerequisite of the movement (and all future moves of the rig) was the requirement that it be completely torn down, so it could be hauled in wagons. Despite the obstacles, the rig was finally on location, re-assembled and ready to drill shortly after Thanksgiving. Accompanying it to the drill site was the “cook house” built so it could be hauled on a wagon. Drilling was slow, with power provided by a wood burning boiler, fired with cottonwood logs purchased in the area for $8 a cord.
It was even slower because the old drilling machine had no calf-wheel. The drilling line was of the type then known as "rag line" nine-strand Manila rope 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Every time pipe was run, it was necessary to pull the tools, take them down, spool the rope and put on wire line for lowering the pipe. Re-spooling of the big rope and re-assembling of the tool string was necessary every time drilling was resumed. Early in the year, the well hit.
Not the hoped-for oil, but an artesian well, in the First Cat Creek sand, flowing more than 2,000 barrels of steaming "warm" water daily, that soon froze in the sub-zero temperature to form a miniature glacier on and around the rig. There was nothing to do but attempt to ream down and carry the eight inch pipe through the water sand for a shut-off, and this was done. The pipe was run in the hole, one 20 foot joint at a time, with the "stabbing" operation complicated by the fine pipe threads of the period, and by the necessity of standing ill flowing water and fighting it while making the connection. As soon as con¬nections were made, the water flowed high over the top of the new joint of pipe. The crew then fought to stream down an additional 20 feet so another joint of pipe could be set, re-spooling the frozen drilling rope-reassembling the tools and trying to get drilling action with the soggy line, while water flowed on and around them. The procedure used by the crew in running the pipe was unvarying. One man, selected in a manner not now clear, was chosen as "dry man." He stood aloof from the deluge, and ran the engine. The others fought the water, which came from the hole with a temperature far above freezing, and soon as pipe connections had been made raced madly to the cook house, as their clothing froze on them in the sub¬zero temperature.
In February the well drilled into the Second Cat Creek sand, and the Cat Creek Field was born to provide the spark for a Montana oil development program that has resulted in an output of over 250 million barrels. Output of the discovery well was about 50 barrels of 52-gravity oil daily, with some water. The discovery caused intense excitement, but this excitement was dwarfed later in the spring 1920. By that time, the crew had torn down the rig, hauled it on wagons to the Wildschultz-Clayton lease, re-assembled it, and completed a flowing well that blew off the roof. This was the No. 1 Wildschultz, and it got oil instead of water in the First Cat Creek sand, and it flowed about 2000 barrels daily, but it wasn't the whole story, as was later demonstrated. There was no tankage on the lease and no market for the oil. The high-gravity crude was allowed to flow into dammed-up coulees and it was given to all comers for free. And there were many comers -- stockmen who hauled it away in barrels and tanks to be used as cattle dip—and canny sons, who soon found out that it served as well as gasoline in the low-compression cars of the period, mostly Model T Fords. Arriving swiftly on the scene was an astute individual Sid Keoughan, then president of the Elk Basin Oil Co., which had some small production in the Montana portion of the Elk Basin field.
Keoughan moved fast and bought out the Franz Oil Corporation later swelling his holdings by purchase of the Mutual Oil Company, and the then small Continental Oil Co. Later all holdings were merged under the Continental name, to become today's mammoth concern of that name.
That Keoughan knew as much about oil as he did about finance was demonstrated by what he did with the Wildschultz well. He reasoned that the pipe was set too high, and caving in shale above the oil sand, so he lowered it into the top of the sand, to stop the caving. He also drilled the well a foot deeper, with results that probably were a shock even to him. The well kicked off and began flowing at the gauged rate of 2,160 barrels daily from a total depth of about 1,200-feet. The Cat Creek field was on its way, though the market situation remained bad. A pipeline was run into railhead at Winnett, and the high gravity oil for a time brought only $1 a barrel, as compared with the $1.25 a barrel paid for water to be used in the field boilers.
Of those who worked on the discovery well, Meek is now a drilling contractor in Shelby, Alderdice is living in Billings, Nordquist is living in Lewistown and Burnett died several years ago in Wyoming. Lantz, who supervised the In¬itial operation to a successful conclusion, moved up to a high office with Continental and was for some time superintendent of the company's Tulsa division. From 1929 up until the time of his death he had operated successfully as an independent lease broker.

Cat Creek field 42 years old this month
February 25, 1962 newspaper
By J. S. (Curly) Meek as told to Mike Voeller
This month marks the 42nd anniversary of the discovery of oil in the famous Cat Creek field
near Winnett, a field that triggered a boom that has yet to be equaled in Central Montana. The
history of the first crew of drillers to arrive at Winnett, the discovery of oil and other related
events is a saga that still remains fresh in the minds of many old timers who were living here
"way back when." Then there are those who hear about the once great Cat Creek field and let it
go at that. Starting today the Daily News will run a history of the discovery of the field as told
by J. S. (Curley) Meek, a driller on the discovery well who now lives in Shelby and owns the
Meek Drilling Co.
Meek has spent many years searching through back issues of newspapers and talking with oil
and business men who were in Central Montana at the time of the discovery and it is from
these sources, as well as his own personal observations that he garnered the information
contained in this series. Some eight years ago when H.L. Lanzt died in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the
age of 74 the Daily News ran a brief history on the discovery of Cat Creek and some of the
obstacles that had to be met. It will do for a start.
As drilling superintendent for the Frantz Oil Co., H. L. Lantz landed in Winnett in October of
1919, bringing with him from Wyoming a rattle trap drilling machine and two drillers, J. S.
(Curly) Meek and Sol Alderdice, and a tool dresser, Fred Burnett. The crew was filled out by the
hiring of Joe Nordquist, local resident, as tool dresser. This was the year of the big winter,
recalled even now with a shudder by old-time residents of the region. With one other man,
Lantz, Meek, Alderdice and Burnett made up the entire list of guests at Winnett's lonesome
hotel-and there they were marooned seven weeks, as raging blizzards swept the prairies and
made roads impassable. The storm followed a drought year, and made even worse the shortage
of hay for the horses that constituted the motive power of the region. By the time the storms
had abated sufficiently to permit moving the rig to the rugged terrain of the Cat Creek field,
teamsters of the area were paying $73 a ton for shipped-in North Dakota slough grass and their
prices rose proportionately. They charged the Franz Corporation $100 a ton for the 22 mile haul
of rig, casing and other equipment to the well site-and a prerequisite of the movement (and
all future moves of the rig) was the requirement that it be completely torn down, so it could be
hauled in wagons. Despite the obstacles, the rig was finally on location, reassembled and ready
to drill shortly after Thanksgiving. Accompanying it to the drill site was the "cook house" built
so it could be hauled on a wagon. Drilling was slow, with power prOVided by a wood burning
boiler, fired with cottonwood logs purchased in the area for $8 a cord.
It was even slower because the old drilling machine had no calf-wheel. The drilling line was of
the type then known as "rag line" nine-strand Manila rope 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Every time
pipe was run, it was necessary to pull the tools, take them down, spool the rope and put on
wire line for lowering the pipe. Re-spooling of the big rope and re-assembling of the tool string
was necessary every time drilling was resumed. Early in the year, the well hit.